After 13 years in city leadership, Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in May.
Powell was first elected to the Cedar Park City Council Place One seat in 2005. He was elected as mayor in 2012 and is nearing the end of his third term.
In his time leading the city, Powell served a role in projects such as the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, Cedar Park Regional Medical Center and a new City Hall. He also oversaw the city during a period of significant population and development growth.
During his state of the city address at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Wednesday evening, Powell said there were about 32,000 residents in the city when he first joined City Council, and now there are closer to 75,000. He thanked residents for electing him to office seven times.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know from within our city, there are plenty of good people who will find the willingness, ability and passion to step forward and serve us,” he said.
According to the city, Powell has represented Cedar Park as a member of the Capital Area Council of Governments and currently serves on the board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Both the cities of Cedar Park and Leander will elect a mayor and three city council members in May. Candidate filing begins Jan. 17 and runs through Feb. 16.